


achievement unlocked ; ryden

by wallofunhappyhearts



Category: Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Gay, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Panic At The Disco (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-02 11:58:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10217528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wallofunhappyhearts/pseuds/wallofunhappyhearts
Summary: [ lowercase intended ]brendon urie's a closeted gay, a mama's boy, and in love with hockey. one night during a sleep over with his totally-straight best friend, dallon, he gets an invite over minecraft; a game he hasn't played in a while. once he's not-so-accidentally outed in school, he's able to meet the boy who sent him the invite; ryan ross, and ryan quickly discovers that brendon's not as straight as he claims. sure, brendon takes on the hobby of ice skating with a pretty girl, and sure he plays video games like every normal teen boy would, but would a straight mama's boy kiss another boy in a stone fort secret to his family?





	1. Chapter 1

_**the mighty fall (#1)** _

_**—** _

holiday breaks were the one thing brendon looked forward to in life. well, that and video games. mainly holiday breaks, and the days off school where he could loaf around on the basement on his couch all day playing mortal combat while eating a variety of chips. he was your basic teen boy; a mama's boy for sure, with the manners of a gentleman, but they had to be dug out from deep within him. otherwise, he was the kid you'd probably find making sexual innuendoes with his friends while the teacher lectures the class.

the one thing nobody knew about him, was that he was gay. a closeted gay. he was considered gallant by his best friend, dallon, but little did dallon know the teen was a rather big pussy. 

never the less, he never really let it shine through, in the usual fear of rejection. 

"i'll smash your ass this time, brendon. your place?" dallon announced aloud as the easily taller boy followed brendon to his locker. the mama's boy was dressed in a simple, yet flashy outfit. dressier top, nice jeans with a matching belt, and his usual sunglasses, as he preferred to act 'cool' as he flirted with the ladies. and speaking of ladies, as two of them passed by, brendon turned his head to them, and winked at them, which only sent them on their way in a fit of giggles.

what a shame this gay boy was a ladies man, a natural born charmer, you could say.

"yup. mama's making pizza tonight." brendon insisted, swinging his locker open, but only to grab his black jacket. he wouldn't grab his homework, no, he never did his homework, but still passed each grade with straight a's. other kids were left with their jaws dropped on how he did it.

"pizza? oh bless the gods! man, i love your mother, bren." dallon casually replied, "how excited are you for christmas break?" he asked, letting himself fall against the locker besides brendon's. he couldn't see his best friend's face though, since he was buried in his locker, throwing his mess of miscellaneous items aside. perhaps he would do his homework if he could find it.

"am i ready?" brendon repeated the question, rearing back from his locker with his jacket clutched firmly in one fist. he finally shoved his locker door shut with his opposite fist, "fuck yeah i'm ready for break! c'mon, dal, you're my best man, you should know this stu-" before brendon could finish speaking, however, a hand landed on his shoulder, disturbing his exchange with dallon.

"brendon, what have i told you about your profanity?" it was mr. sanger, the only teacher who would really put up with brendon's antics. brendon's ears went warm in embarrassment, as he simply plastered that award-winning smile on his face yet again, and directed his attention to mr. sanger. 

"my apologies, sir, just being a teenager, getting in trouble n' shit." brendon prompted. mr. sanger raised his hand off brendon's shoulder, delivering a small slap across the back of the boy's head. brendon winced, but he knew it was all fun and games. after all, amusement sparkled in the teacher's eyes as he gave him a stern look.

"oh, let him off the hook, will ya, sanger?" dallon piped up, smirking from where he still leaned against the lockers. mr. sanger instead turned his attention to him, raising an eyebrow. "not a peep out of you, weekes. as for you, brendon, you know your mother wouldn't be too happy with another detention report." he warned. yet again, brendon played the teacher like he played his games, slipping out from his grip, and turning to face him, in the protection of dallon, just a few inches behind him.

"my mother wouldn't be too happy to find out you're the one to give it to her, either, mr. sanger. do you even know how to impress ladies?" brendon teased. instead of replying, the brown-haired teacher went red, narrowing his eyes. "brendon urie, you little-" before the teacher could finish, however, the final bell of the day went off, and brendon sprang from dallon's protection, darting down the hall at a full sprint. christmas break had finally begun!

"i'd love to sit and chat, but i better get going! bye!" brendon yelled, waving his arms in the direction of the teacher. dallon watched after his best friend with a chuckle, saluted to mr. sanger, then chased after brendon at a subtle sprint, focused on catching up. mr. sanger simply pursed his lips and watched the two go on their way.

...

"come one, dallon, you fucking slow poke! i swear, you're part turtle." brendon shouted over his shoulder as he half fell, half leapt down the stairs to the basement, where his room was. as he reached the cement floor, he let himself slide across the ground, since he'd abandoned his shoes and was left in his white, matching socks. dallon was close behind, already exhausted from the sprint to brendon's. "shut your face, brendon." dallon shouted.

brendon simply released a chuckle of amusement as he launched hisself onto the closest couch, soaring right over the arm of it to land gracefully amongst the pillows and blankets. dallon, with more manners than brendon, instead walked over to plop down on the floor, propped up against the couch; but not before turning on brendon's ps2 and handing the remotes to him.

after brendon reconnected the ps2 remotes, he clicked onto the game, mortal combat, and seated himself comfortably into a position where he deemed himself king of the couch, with the pillows as his throne. "i call scorpion!" brendon shouted as he logged in as player 1, and automatically chose scorpion. dallon released the beginning stages of throwing his usual fit.

"no fair! you were scorpion last time!" he whined, "fine, i'll be sub-zero, he's not that bad." he decided, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he concentrated. brendon, on the other hand, released a snort of giggles, smacking his hand down on the couch cushion beside him. "sub-zero? come on, dallon, he sucks ass!"

"not if you know how to play him right." dallon replied, doing his best to defend himself, to no avail. the two battled in mortal combat for what felt like hours, when in reality it was less than thirty minutes, before brendon's mother's voice rang out down the stairs, and the staircase light flickered.

"brendon! the pizza's here! i got one large pepperoni pizza for you and dallon to share!" she shouted. dallon paused the game, turning on brendon with an abrupt expression of shock. "you told me your mother made home made pizza!" he whisper shouted, as brendon let himself leap right back over the arm of the couch, and walked on his tippy toes over to the base of the stairs.

"my mother can't cook, dal," brendon joked. as brendon ran up the stairs, he was pulled aside by his mother, who smacked him in the chest with a soft smile before dismissing him. "i heard that, brendon. where are your manners?" brendon scrunched his nose up with a soft laugh, headed straight for the door. "sorry, mama." he chirped. she simply shook his head.

"whatever, you boys enjoy your pizza, will you?" brendon didn't need to be told twice. he took the pizza without saying anything but a soft 'thank you', before disappearing right back down the stairs, dropping the pizza box upon the small white coffee table in the middle of his lounge room, and allowing dallon to tear it open, and within twenty more minutes, the two teens had devoured it.

"hey, bren, what's that?" dallon pointed out, wiping his chin free of pizza sauce with his thumb as he stuffed the last piece of pizza into his food hole. brendon, distracted, looked up from his last piece, at the tv screen, where dallon was pointing. "what?" he muttered, squinting at the tv. he was suppose to wear glasses, but he often abandoned them, along with his contacts, insisting his vision was fine.

in the corner of the screen was a tiny box, claiming brendon had a minecraft invite from some random player. brendon bought minecraft forever ago, and played it for maybe two weeks before deciding it wasn't fun enough for him to be satisfied with, so he'd left his game to disappear amongst the clothes littering his bedroom floor. brendon shrugged it off, finishing off the crust of his pizza slice.

"who knows. either way, come on, i need to get back to kicking your ass." brendon insisted, snatching up the video game controller with greasy fingers. he sporadically licked his lips free of the remaining taste of pizza. this time, dallon had claimed the couch, so brendon took a seat on the floor, absorbing himself entirely in the video game. he ignored the request, and instead, went on to battle dallon a few more times.

although, the request kept bothering him, it fogged his mind until it was all he could think about. eventually, he ended up losing quite a few games to dallon, who then boasted about it. "see brendon! i told you i'd smash your ass tonight! haha!" he cheered, his hands up in the air after having won for the fifth time in a row. brendon grunted in frustration. 

"hey, what's got you down?" dallon called out, snapping brendon from his trance. brendon looked up at dallon and shrugged. "uhh, nothing. one more round before bed- all or nothing!" he decided, and took up another challenge against dallon. again, though, he ended up losing. that stupid invite, he couldn't get it out of his mind. the weirdest part about it was the username the message claimed to be sent from sounded so familiar, like he'd heard it before, but he just couldn't place a face to the name.

_likeaross has sent you an invite!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**i will, tonight (#2)** _

_**—** _

when the two boys finally decided to pass out, dallon was the first to call the bedroom. brendon's bedroom was a mess, with clothes strewn out all over the place, and a bed with the blanket thrown back. in one side of the room was his dresser, with a tv on top of it. plastered all over the walls and white ceiling, were glow-in-the-dark stars and astrology symbols his mother had put up when he was around six, since he'd been afraid of the dark.

"i call bedroom!" dallon shouted, dropping the ps2 remote on the cement floor, and throwing himself at the door beside the stairs. before brendon could reject, dallon had already dropped down and rolled across the now-carpeted floor, until he was at the foot of brendon's bed. brendon grunted in disapproval, shut the ps2 down, and took off right after dallon. dallon, however, was already perched on the bed, pulling the sheets and blankets over to hide his face.

brendon frowned, though he knew dallon won fair and square. "fineee," he whined, straightening up, and taking yet another look around his room. since his room was in the basement, there were no windows on his walls, but he did have a lamp beside his tv, a closet in one end, a dresser, and more miscellaneous items.

brendon huffed at dallon, who simply rolled his eyes, before brendon turned and stalked out of the bedroom, shutting the door as well. he plopped down in the recliner chair dallon could've sat in during their video game match, but clearly hadn't. the lounge room was now a mess, with pillows littering the floor, and an empty pizza box on the floor. the boy pulled his laptop over onto his lap, and opened the lid, clicking right into the minecraft game he'd once again bought forever ago, but forgot existed.

he was insistent on finding out why _likeaross_ sounded familiar. perhaps the kid had a pc minecraft account?a mojang account? to brendon's surprise,  he did. automatically, he smiled, and sent the kid an invite to his own personal world; 2cool4skool. also to brendon's surprise, the kid happened to actually be online at the time. right off the bat, brendon hit a conversation up with him.

urieletric: yoo, u sent me an invite on the ps2 minecraft game

likeaross: that'd be me

urieletric: y?

likeaross: your user name sounds familiar, i swear i know you from somewhere

urieletric: rlly? i'm able 2 say the same for u

likeaross: please fix your grammar

urieletric: **really? i'm able to say the same for you

likeaross: thank you

likeaross: you can just call me ross, by the way

urieletric: is that your name?

likeaross: no

urieletric: what's your name? am i allowed to know?

likeaross: no

urieletric: why?

likeaross: safety measures. do you think i'll give my personal info out to a stranger?

urieletric: i'm seventeen what's the worst i'll do

likeaross: male?

urieletric: male

likeaross: i figured

urieletric: what's that suppose to mean?

likeaross: you talk like a fuck boy

urieletric: i do not!

likeaross: do to

_**urieletric** has **likeaross** off game mode 1_

likeaross: hey wait hold on what the fuck there's zombies out here i don't have a bed

urieletric: quit being an asshole

likeaross: am i allowed to know your name?

urieletric: not until i know yours

likeaross: then i'll call you uriel

urieletric: no

likeaross: why

urieletric: it's stupid

likeaross: but it sounds like ariel

urieletric: exactly

likeaross: so you're not ginger?

urieletric: no

likeaross: oh

likeaross: i'm not either

likeaross: you should put me on creative

urieletric: you should tell me your name

likeaross: you know what

likeaross: i have more important things to do then play minecraft

urieletric: like what

likeaross: sleep

likeaross: bye

urieletric: WAIT NO 

_**likeaross** has left **2cool4skool**_

urieletric: ROSS

urieletric: dammit


	3. Chapter 3

_**my hit and run (#3)** _

_**—** _

the next morning, brendon was awoken at an earlier time by his mother's voice yet again. he stifled a yawn, rolled over, and passed right back out. a nap that felt like five minutes to him actually stretched on for another thirty minutes before dallon happened to wake up from his mother's screaming, and was forced to physically shake brendon awake. "brendon! brendon, wake up, your mother wants you." dallon whisper yelled, then turned to the stairs and shouted, "he's awake!" 

"no i'm not." brendon moaned, in refusal to open his eyes. he hadn't stayed up that late, but he didn't get much sleep, the recliner was definitely one of the most uncomfortable things he'd ever decided to sleep in. dallon stumbled across the pizza box on his way to the basement lounge room's light switch, which he flicked on. brendon groaned and yanked the blanket over his head as the light blinded him, stealing his vision.

dallon wouldn't have any of it. the boy re-approached the recliner, grabbed the edge of brendon's thick quilt, and tugged it off him, before throwing it aside. he left brendon to moan and whine, squirming in the recliner as he searched for not only something to cover his eyes, but another source of heat. dallon had slipped on his shoes, as for his jacket, and now stood at the base of the stairs. 

"brendon, hurry up. ms. urie says she has breakfast ready, and that mr. sanger's here to join you guys. i ought to be home before my dad gets off work." dallon admitted. brendon's eyes shot open at the mention of mr. sanger. he was okay with the man crushing on his mother from afar, but joining him at his own house? it gave brendon a weird feeling. of course he was gonna be the student who's mother was dating the english teacher.

brendon kept to himself downstairs until dallon disappeared, before he finally aroused, got dressed, and found himself sitting at the dining room table beside his mother in no time. the chandelier was bright above them, and his mama had for once dragged out the nicer tablecloth they used for special occasions. yuck. that means his mother clearly thought this was a special occasion. 

since brendon was forced to wear something nicer on occasions like this, he'd slipped on a nicer dress shirt, a white one, beneath a cream-colored knit sweater. one of those nerdy sweaters, that grandpas wore. he left the collar of his dress shirt untucked, so it folded over the neck of his sweatshirt. he hated the outfit, but he knew it'd make his mom happy.

"quite a mama's boy, this one." mr. sanger, who had announced brendon should call him scott when not in school, declared from the other side of the table. brendon scrunched his nose up as his mother reached over to pat down a lock of stubborn brown hair that stuck up upon his head. a natural cowlick. "oh yes, my little angel." his mother voiced next, smiling quite brightly at him.

brendon gave her a pointed look, but it mainly held amusement. he wasn't one to speak against his mother's wishes. especially when her opinions were right. he was definitely a mother's boy. a mother's boy who was a closeted gay, enjoyed video games, and had a secret passion for hockey. 

"hey mom? do you think i could try out for the local hockey team today?" brendon suddenly blurt out, later on in the breakfast. scott was too busy eating his pancake to speak to brendon's mother anymore, so he'd stolen the chance. he'd already devoured his food, which he knew his mother had ordered from the closest place willing to deliver breakfast. 

his mother looked up from her meal in surprise, her brown hair falling like a waterfall over her shoulders. it was no surprise brendon was such a charmer, he'd gotten a majority of his looks from his mother. the chocolate pools for eyes, the subtle cheek freckles, and the award-winning smile. the only thing he'd received from his father was the fuller, pink lips, and nose shape. otherwise, he was the spitting image of his mother. "hockey?" she asked softly. 

brendon nodded quickly, his excitement growing. "i've been meaning to ask you earlier, but i never got the guts to. the hockey try outs are today for the berkton bears." he muttered, his voice growing louder which each word. his mother's face took on an expression of worry. "ice hockey?" brendon only nodded.

"oh, brendon, that's dangerous.." she fretted, her eyes growing wide at the possible injuries her son could acquire from doing this sport. "you sure you don't want to wait until spring and do tennis? berkton high has a tennis team, you know." she tried to persuaded. scott had taken interest in the conversation now, his head cocked to the side.

"ma, nobody plays tennis!" brendon exclaimed, in disbelief. "nobody cool does. that's for the nerds." he decided. before his mother could reply, scott intervened, clearing his throat. both brendon and grace, his mother, turned their attention to scott. "i don't think it's that bad of an idea, grace. after all, he's a tough kid. aren't you, bren?" brendon's hope expanded. with scott on his side, his mother was bound to say yes. brendon turned back to his mother, nodding vigorously. "yes! very!" he insisted.

"well..okay..when are the auditions?" she asked, uncertainly. scott smiled at brendon, who was delivering a grateful smile. 

"not sure, but they're at the bexley stadium, on the edge of town." brendon was on the edge of his seat, anticipating the try outs. he'd been quite a big hockey fan since his father had taken him to his first hockey game. in fact, his father had played hockey with him, and since then, hockey was the only connection he had remaining between him and his father. he barely knew his father nowadays.

...

grace was still worried her son was bound to slip on the ice and bust his chin open or something, but scott and her drove brendon all the way down to the baxley stadium. it was where the official ice hockey competitions would take place. also known as one of brendon's favorite places. the arena was massive, for sure.

the try out went well. after brendon was handed a pair of skates, a helmet, and hockey stick, he was waved off to go change. a majority of the other kids appeared to be tougher, and definitely over brendon's age.

"hey, how old are you?" brendon asked as he slid out on his ice skates, grabbing the thick glass wall protecting the audience seats from the stadium of ice below. he didn't want to slide out yet, but instead he'd stopped to have a word with a buffer guy, a bald guy with a resting bitch's face, and a beard that seemed to be tinted red. the guy's face shook into a frown.

"25. what's it to ya?" he snapped, flinching away as brendon offered his hand. "i'm brendon. trying out tonight. i'm only 17. do you think i could make it?" he asked curiously. the other seemed to be unamused, as if brendon was simply playing antics upon him. in the seats in the audience, scott was seated beside his mother, trying to start up a conversation, but his mother was mainly focused on her son. 

"zack. and no. i don't think you'll make it. look at you, there's nothing on you!" the man exclaimed, standing up. as he straightened up, the seventeen year old realized the man was definitely beefier than him, as he was taller than him. he used his hockey stick to reach out and jab at brendon's gut, which earned him a grunt from brendon. "really.." brendon frowned, as zack turned and lumbered off. 

"brendon urie, number 24." the loud speaker announced, snatching brendon's attention off of the problems that'd bothered him before. he whirled around as excitement coursed through him again. he used the edge of his hockey stick to steer himself as he skate out to the middle of the arena.

...

needless to say, the try out went terrible. brendon left the place with a bruise on his side, after being shoved over by all the taller, heavier guys. he was shivering, the temperature finally getting to him, since he was no longer wearing the heavy jersey required as a safety precaution for ice hockey. he wore a heavy frown upon his face, as all he had wanted was to play hockey.

"brendon, honey, you weren't even that bad! you're just a little small.." his mother attempted to comfort him, but brendon refused. instead, he had adjusted himself so he was leaning against the car door, his face pressed against the fogged up window, so he'd have a good sight of the snow frosting the ground outside, like icing on a big birthday cake.

"mom, where's dad?" brendon blurt out. he knew she wouldn't speak up, whenever he brought the topic up, she would change the subject, or tell him off. still, he decided it was worth a shot. as guessed, it simply forced an awkward tension into the air. after all, he had no sensitivity to how scott was still sitting in the car. his mother released a long breath of air, shaking her head with pursed lips.

"this conversation isn't necessary, brendon. i don't think it's time for you to know yet." she decided. brendon glared out the window instead. he didn't understand why he wasn't allowed to know who his father was. he was almost positive his father was a great person. so what happened to him? 

"take me to dallon's. now." brendon demanded. his mother, however, refused. instead, she ended up dropping scott off at his own place, then drove brendon home, despite his cries of reluctance. it all came down until he was back in his room, curled up in his bed again. his mother had refused to talk to him until he dropped his attitude. which he currently didn't think he owned. never the less, he obliged, and left for his bedroom in the basement.

now, he was left to stare at the fake stars in the midst of the sky of his room. his dark, lonesome room. in no time, he was out cold, waiting patiently for the next day; sunday; to arrive. yay, church. 


	4. Chapter 4

**_the young & the hopeless (#4)_ **

**_—_ **

church was one of brendon's least favorite things; slap down beside school. why? well, he was gay, and his mother was mormon. hence he was still closeted. never the less, he was still forced to get up at nine in the morning to dress in those rich kid clothes his mama had bought him for his last birthday; possibly the only nice outfit he actually had. 

and no surprise here, but scott was of course tagging along as his mother's plus one. why wasn't brendon allowed to have a plus one? whether a boyfriend, or even a friend, his mother gained this wall of hatred towards brendon's friends on sundays. it was shitty, really, that's why sundays were one of his least favorite days. "mom, can i bring dallon this time? please? he's a practiced mormon," brendon attempted to persuade, pulling dog eyes. 

his mother, however, refused, and instead took scott's hand in her own, and directed brendon to the car. he was forced to sit in the back. that morning he'd managed to uncover his dress shirt, the white one from the day before's breakfast, which he'd just thrown back on, whether it was dirty or not. complimenting his shirt, he wore nice black slacks and a black bowtie.

"so, brendon, you ready to see sadie?" his mother suddenly blurt out, on the way to berkton south shore church. brendon's attention snapped from the subtle snow flakes falling from the sky, instead turning to his mother. "what?" he muttered softly. oh god. as if his day couldn't get any worse, he was gonna be forced to hang out with his cousins; which he absolutely despised. brendon wasn't a fan of children, and he had maybe a million younger cousins. sadie was one of them.

"it's her birthday today. why do you think i was so insistent on bringing you? you can entertain all the kids while us adults..have fun, and chat." grace turned her head in the car to brendon, who's jaw was set in more of an angry expression. despite his look, she just winked, then reached over to kiss scott's cheek. "you look very handsome today, scottie." she whispered. as if brendon wasn't even there.

the boy scrunched his nose up in disgust. ewww. "you have to be kidding me, mom. i'm seventeen! you can't stick me with sadie and her friends every time we go to church! when do i get a say in this?" he whined. grace glanced back at him in the rear view mirror, then focused on her driving as they pulled into the parking lot.

"when you start paying the bills. now come on, they aren't that bad. they're family." she insisted, a soft sigh leaving her lips. brendon gave in with any further argument, pursing his lips together in disappointment as he crawled out of the backseat. as soon as he set foot in the parking lot, brendon lost his footing, and landed flat on his ass in the snow. stupid ice.

"what the..agggh!" brendon squealed, as a wave of shock plunged over him. his mother only stifled laughter, and left scott to lean over and yank brendon to his feet. "you okay, bud?" he asked. brendon warmly returned the smile scott gave him, shrugging it off, and pulling his rather heavy mackinaw over his shoulders, and burying his face into the wool on the front of it, searching for warmth. "let's just get inside, i'm sure it's warmer in there." 

once inside, brendon stripped his heavy coat off his shoulders, then stuck it to the closest hook, before turning to follow his mother to the church's service program. if he'd woken up a little earlier, he'd been able to come earlier, and get some breakfast, such as a doughnut, but they'd come too late to get anything. he'd be forced to suffer through the morning without breakfast. 

before he could even reach the doors for the main service, he was forced to stop, as a tiny pair of arms wrapped around his legs. he looked down and around himself, and caught himself staring into the face of his younger cousin, sadie. sadie had sea green eyes and blonde curly hair pulled back in pigtails, and an odd toothy grin. "bendon! bendon!" she shouted, at the age of only three, she was barely able to pronounce his name, though it'd been slowly spelled out for her time and time again.

brendon groaned and leaned over, lifting the girl onto his hip, where she clung, before he moved on to the church reception. 

...

after the reception was the worst part of his day. as his mother had promised, they were in fact celebrating sadie's birthday at the church. after the reception and talk about god, which brendon refused to believe existed, sadie slid down from his hip and ran off to join her little friends. there were about six more children, all tiny, and all now with their attention on him. a moment of hesitation and awkward tension filled the air before scott sealed brendon's doom, pushing him forward.

"go on, brendon! here, your mother wanted me to give these to you. your aunt tiffany is hosting the kid's portion of the party." before the children could tackle brendon in their type of fun, which consisted of hair pulling, tickling, and shrieking, scott had whirled brendon around by the shoulders, shoved a noise maker in his mouth, and snapped a party had on top of his head, letting the rubber strap snap against brendon's chin, then finally pushed him towards the herd of children. brendon's worst nightmare.

in no time, brendon was dragged to the ground, unable to physically harm any of them, he released shrill shrieks of fake laughter, and cries for desperate help as he ended up elbowed in the chin, and had his noise maker yanked from his mouth. he was relieved from the torture momentarily, however, when his aunt tiffany shouted, "cake!" and every single one of the devils ran from brendon, instead over to the shorter table in the corner of the reserved room. 

"brendon, you're expected to join us, of course." tiffany spoke in a stern voice. brendon warily allowed his eyes to flutter open, where he stared at the upside down figure of his blonde-haired, blue-eyed aunt. he sighed in defeat and rolled over onto his stomach, before getting onto his knees and crawling over to the small table, which he sat on his knees and dined on some cake from.

...

after what felt like ever, brendon was finally home again, free of all the demon-children and god-whorshipers. as he collapsed on his lounge couch, his eyes falling shut, one thought resurfaced in his mind. ross. that boy he'd talked with over a minecraft chat feature. brendon sat up again, throwing his legs over the side of the couch, as he ripped off the stupid birthday hat, and pulled his laptop instead onto his lap.

as expected, he had quite a few messages. he felt himself unnecessarily smiling at them.

_3 received messages from **likeaross**_

likeaross: uriel

likeaross: have you died?

likeaross: come back

likeaross: i'm lonely 

likeaross: i won't call you uriel anymore

likeaross: sorry

urieletric: i'm not dead, i had church and my cousin's birthday party to suffer through

likeaross: URIE

likeaross: YOU'RE BACK

urieletric: ...yes i am. did you really miss me that much? we don't know each other.. at all

likeaross: you're the closest thing i have to a friend

urieletric: that's sad

likeaross: so is my life

urieletric: o

likeaross: anyways, what were you doing yesterday?? if you had church and a birthday party today

urieletric: breakfast with my mom and my english teacher and some hockey team tryouts

likeaross: you like hockey

urieletric: yea

likeaross: nerd

urieletric: shut the fuck up

likeaross: nerdddd

urieletric: no seriously stop it means a lot to me

likeaross: sorry

likeaross: did you make the team?

urieletric: no

likeaross: oh

likeaross: uhh, sorry

urieletric: ehh

likeaross: hey, i have an idea

urieletric: yea? 

likeaross: we should exchange phone numbers

urieletric: why

likeaross: incase you decide to ignore me for two days again, i can blow your phone up

urieletric: you were the one who left the chat last time

likeaross: true

likeaross: but still

urieletric: oh fine

likeaross: yay

likeaross: mine's **********

urieletric: sweet i'll txt you

likeaross: oh hey i got it

urieletric: magic

likeaross: certainly

urieletric: okay i gotta go bye

likeaross: wait what why

urieletric: i'm gonna sneak out of the house to hit my friend dallon up

likeaross: that's not fair

likeaross: fuck dallon

likeaross: i'm lonely please come back

likeaross: wait why do you have to sneak out of your house, don't you have a door

urieletric: yea but my family's mormon i'm not allowed out of the house on sundays

_**urieletric** has left the chat_

likeaross: so he's straight

likeaross: fuck


	5. Chapter 5

_**starboy (#5)** _

_**—** _

as brendon promised, he ended up sneaking out that night. he made sure he was clad in black; an oversized black hoodie, black skinny jeans; which he would have to admit, they made his ass look great; and black sunglasses. you could never forget the glasses. 

then he stuffed his laptop, phone, remote controllers, and video games all into one bag, swung it over his shoulder, and snuck up the wooden steps. he knew his mother would be asleep by now. it was ten thirty at night, and she usually went to bed early. he was quick to shoot across the carpet floor, and out the door.

...

"yo, the last thing i expected was for you to show up at my house in the middle of the night. let alone on a sunday," dallon said, though despite his words, he smirked and scoot away from his window. ironically enough, there was a tree who's branches tangled in a messy knot right beside dallon's window, and brendon used it every damn time he snuck out of the house to get into dallon's room. with grace, the boy let himself fall through the window and onto dallon's comfy bed.

"this won't be the last time, dude. here, i brought mortal combat." brendon said as he slid his bag off his shoulders, throwing it at dallon, and turning to slide dallon's window smoothly shut. when he turned back to dallon, his hands on the hood of his jacket, he frowned. dallon was staring at him with a frown. the bag was clutched tightly in his hands. brendon pulled his hoodie hood off his head, his hair disheveled. "what?" 

"are you wearing..lilac deodorant?" dallon asked softly, his eyes squinting until they were fixed on brendon, and only brendon. brendon felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. he'd forgotten about putting lilac deodorant on after he'd gotten back from church. that was only because he smelled unpleasantly like chocolate cake, and lilac deodorant was all he'd had on his dresser. why? well, that was unknown, it'd just been sitting there.

"yea, why?" brendon asked, quite hesitantly. he relaxed into dallon's bed, running one hand through his messy hair. being the stubborn flop it was, it refused to obey his commands. he eventually stopped trying. dallon had turned and rolled off his bed, brendon's backpack tucked under one arm. he stifled a soft laugh, "dude, that's gay."

"i'm gay." brendon blurt out. as soon as the words escaped his lips, he regretted them. he'd just accidentally outed himself. granted, dallon was his best friend, but he wasn't sure how he'd take the news. or if he'd take it seriously. brendon's cheeks went bright red, "fuck." he cursed under his breath. dallon paused in place, near his ps2, and turned to face brendon. "wait, really? you're gay?" he asked.

brendon looked up at dallon for a hesitant moment, then made another spontaneous decision and decided he might as well come out and explain himself. "yeah.." he muttered. dallon cocked his head to the side, "like, you feel sexually attracted to guys? you fuck guys?" he asked, curiouser than ever. he abandoned brendon's bag on the floor, and instead flung himself onto his bed beside brendon, lying curled up on his chest. brendon was leaned back against the wall, watching dallon with slight hostility. 

"no, dallon," brendon yelped as dallon came closer, sitting right beside him. he reached out and gently smacked dallon, pushing his own sunglasses up on his forehead. "i'm a virgin. i haven't had sex with anybody." he said softly, leading to dallon to chuckle. "but yes, i think guys are hot. why? are you homophobic?" brendon suddenly jumped to conclusions. dallon recoiled as brendon flinched, and shook his head. 

"no! not at all. you like dudes? go ahead, totally fine with me. i was just curious. but yeah, don't worry about it man, i'm a virgin too. you come out to your parents yet? well, your mom yet? what about mr. sanger?" dallon went on until brendon slapped a hand over his mouth. "no, i haven't. god forbid dallon forgets my mom is mormon!" he exclaimed. dallon's face twisted in realization. 

"shit, you're right. then again, you are a momma's boy, i doubt liking dudes would change her opinion on you. think about it, she likes dudes too!" dallon attempted to cheer brendon up, smacking his shoulder playfully. brendon couldn't help it, he ended up smiling. though before he could reply to dallon's antics, his phone went off from his bag near dallon's dresser. brendon cursed under his breath, assuming it was his mom.

though when he flopped back beside dallon and opened his text messages, he discovered it wasn't his mom, but the one and only ross.

ross: where the fuck are you

ross: wake up

ross: don't tell me you fell asleep

ross: you should get on minecraft

"oooh! who's this? is he a guy? do you think he's hot? is he your boyfriend?" dallon whisper-yelled in brendon's ear, in excitement. brendon frowned at his best friend's wild imagination. "what? no! i don't know if he's a guy, or if he's gay. shut up, will you?" he whispered back. then, instead of answering ross, he clicked the call button. dallon went silent, though he wore a taunting smile. brendon groaned softly; if ross WAS a guy, dallon was definitely gonna bother him about it.

"hello?" the phone picked up. brendon put him on speaker phone, discovering just by their voice that they were a male. dallon shrieked with laughter, so brendon leapt across the bed to shove dallon off it. dallon landed on the ground with a loud, "what the FUCK!" brendon, however, only giggled, and lifted his phone closer to his face.

"sorry, ross, that was my best friend, dallon." 

"oh yeah, you told me about him. are you at his place?" 

"yea." brendon wasn't too sure what to say, so he kept quiet at first. then dallon chimed in, of course, with his stupid mouth. "BRENDON AND ROSS, SITTING IN A TREE. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" dallon whisper yelled. since it was still in the middle of the night, he couldn't be too loud. ross spoke up again, "what the fuck?" 

"i don't know, i'm sorry, i have to go and kick dallon's ass. talk to you later? bye!" without waiting for ross's answer, brendon hung up, tossed his phone aside, and leapt off dallon's bed to jump onto dallon, where he began playfully punching him in the chest. the boy was bigger than him, so brendon punching him wasn't really anything harmful to him. dallon only sat there and giggled, occasionally releasing quiet 'ow's' once brendon actually managed to cause damage. 

"what. the. fuck. is. your. _problem!?_ " brendon gasped, sliding off dallon to give him mercy. despite his attitude, he was wearing a really big grin. 

...

by the next morning, brendon had made up his mind. he was gonna come out to both scott and his mother. he had managed to sneak back into his room before one am, which was a new record, and curled up on his lounge couch, passed out. the next morning, the first thing he did was plan to look as gay as he could. so he dressed himself up in a purple shirt, with a black vest over it. a nicer outfit, but he wouldn't admit it; he liked looking nice. then he tugged on some black, leathery skinny jeans, and let his hair fall flat across his forehead.

his hair usually fell down in brown, wavy locks anyways. next, he applied some more of the lilac deodorant. it smelled good, alright? next was the shoes and socks; just incase his mother didn't support him, and decided to kick him out. then he shoved his phone into his pocket and hopped up the stairs, two at a time. to no surprise, his mother was already awake, and preparing some breakfast in the kitchen. scott, already acting like he owned the place, was sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in one hand, and the newspaper lying flat across the table as he read the headlines. how basic.

"hey...brendon?" scott greeted, his voice muffled as he took in brendon's outfit. lets get this straight, brendon never dressed in purple, and brendon never wore vests. that should've given it away as soon as he stepped foot in the kitchen. his mother whirled around in her place to see what scott was confused about, only to frown softly in just as much confusion. "bren?" she asked softly, "explain yourself, are you going somewhere nice? you never dress up nicely, and...you never wear purple.."

"please take a seat, mom, scott." brendon insisted, pulling a chair back to plop down in it. as his mother passed by his seat she paused, then continued on to her own seat, muttering under her breath, "he's wearing lilac spray, grace, i told you letting him play with your makeup as a child wasn't a good idea." brendon, however, only raised an eyebrow in surprise. "you let me play with your makeup?" however, his mother shook her head, and laid her arms across the table.

"hurry up with it, bren, i gotta get to the school this morning to grade things over christmas break. then your mom and i are going christmas shopping for...somebody." scott insisted, then smiled quickly, and sat up straight in his chair. brendon's cheeks burnt red in embarrassment; he wasn't very materialistic, so he wasn't keen on the idea of somebody going shopping for him.

"well, it's simple. i'm gay." as soon as the words left his mouth, his mother raised her eyebrows in surprise. "you like guys?" scott asked. brendon nodded quickly. "yea, i do. guys are hot. want an example? ryan gosseling. i think he's hot. and yes, mom, before you ask, i'm still a virgin." he assured, and his mouth sighed in relief. she soon smiled and raised to her feet, walking around the table to hug brendon around the shoulders.

"thank god you're still a virgin. don't have sex, you're too young." she whispered, and ruffled brendon's hair. brendon tucked out of her grip, smiling softly. "so you're okay with me having a boyfriend?" he asked. she nodded, then disappeared to finish making breakfast, but not before calling over her shoulder, "of course. why wouldn't i be?" scott, also nodded. "cool with me." he decided, and raised to his feet to disappear out the kitchen, probably going to the school. brendon smiled in relief. his parents were okay with him being gay. life couldn't get better. 


	6. Chapter 6

_**oh, pretty woman (#6)** _

_**—** _

now that brendon had come out to his mother, and his step dad, he really couldn't figure out what to do. so he decided to do something he hadn't done since last summer; go on a walk. he usually didn't take walks in winter, because of the cold, but after coming out he felt a strange sensation of freedom. he felt like he could do anything, honestly. 

this walk led him around town for the next hour, but when he grew tired, he decided to stop short at the nearest park. rock island park. not very surprising, but throughout the park were bigger rocks, until it eventually led up to what appeared to be a house made out of larger rocks. if these rocks were to fall, it appeared they'd be dangerous. out of curiosity, brendon decided to explore. 

the grass appeared to be quite dead, and frost covered. the trees were big, and looming over everything brendon's eyes could pick up. what kind of tree? brendon wasn't able to place his finger on it, he never paid attention in earth science; or science overall. although the trees were bare. there wasn't much snow on the ground, which was kind of relieving, because brendon preferred warm weather. the boy had brought a jacket along with him, and kept it zipped up over his purple shirt and vest. it was still cold to him, despite the sun boring into his back.

the grass beneath his feet slowly dispersed into a rockier ground, as he approached the rocky fort. the ground sloped upwards until he reached the top of the hill, until it became simply too steep for brendon to scale on his feet. he ended up having to cling to other rocks as he climbed up the wall of the hill. in no time he was within the fort, after having lifted himself up through the window, and easing his body down on top of what appeared to be a dusty wooden table. 

the legs creaked under the weight added to it, but it appeared to hold his weight. brendon's breath was caught in his throat as he took in the place. the ground was grassy, and the door of the place had clearly been ripped off. there was a picture frame dangling up on the wall, but it was crooked, cracked, and glass lie on the ground beneath it. despite it looking trashy, with scratches amongst the stone walls, and broken windows, there wasn't any graffiti on the walls.

brendon slid off the table and ran his finger across the stone, picking up nothing but dirty, grime, and dust. nasty. he wiped his hand quickly on his pants, kicking aside a chair with a leg broken off. all that rest inside of the stone house was an old table and chair, and that broken picture frame. it was creepy, sure, but creepier yet, was the surprising sound of music reaching brendon's ears. the boy's hands went to his phone, only to realize it wasn't going off; so it wasn't coming from him.

he approached the hole in the wall, where a door used to be, and peered out hesitantly to try and place a name to the source of the music. he rolled his eyes and stepped out of the door, easing himself now down a hill that sloped away from the building. he was headed for a lake, it appeared, hidden beyond the dead trees. the music he heard got louder- it was party music, the kind you dance to. to brendon's surprise, once he pushed through the dried up and dead branches of bushes, he discovered where the music had been coming from.

there was a lake, but it was frozen over. upon the lake was a girl; a beautiful girl, with pale skin, dreamy eyes, and black hair that had quite the personality. she was ice skating, doing twists and turns with more grace than a acrobat. brendon watched on in awe, before slowly approaching her. she was dressed in a short skirt, that reached her knees, with a light blue shade. her top was light blue as well, and was quite conserved, despite showing her shoulders. a jacket was dangling lazily from her waist, where it was tied.

so she was crazy, right? ice skating with no protection in the cold winds of december. still, brendon found her fascinating. when she took notice of brendon, she gasped, and slid to a stop near the bank of the lake, crawling out and straightening up. there was a radio chilling on a wooden bench nearby; the source of the music. "who're you?" brendon asked, as he approached her. she was looking up at brendon in surprise, as she brushed her knees off and puffed her chest out.

"sarah. who're you? how'd you find this place? nobody comes to rock island.." she said. her voice was like music to brendon's ears, honestly. if he wasn't gay, he'd definitely flirt with the chick. she reached out towards brendon, one hand, her fingers extended. "help?" she asked softly. brendon nodded firmly and instead of taking her hand, he reached forward to grab her by the waist, whirling the opposite direction of the ice to set her down on her feet, free of the slippery substance. "i was just on a walk, and stumbled across the place. i'm already engrossed in it. what're you doing here?" he asked.

"i always come here. thank you, by the way," sarah paused, wiping at the side of her face with her dainty hands. then she sized brendon up real quickly. "i'm ice skating. well, actually, i'm mourning." she insisted, and sat down on her tush, starting to undo her skates. once she slid them off, revealing fluffy white socks, she pranced across the rocks protruding from the ground, using them as stepping stones to avoid the cold earth. brendon, already intrigued by this character, took off at a gentle jog after her. she didn't stop until she reached the bench, which she sat upon and began to pull her shoes on.

"why're you mourning? what's wrong?" he asked curiously, taking a quick seat beside her, "i'm brendon, by the way." sarah glanced over at him and smiled sadly, pulling one ice skate up to let it dangle in front of his face. "i was gonna try out to be a professional ice skater but i'm not allowed to audition. they don't have anymore single ice skater opportunities open for the berkton ice team. only double teams. and i don't have a male counterpart who knows how to ice skate." she said, shrugging. brendon's features lit up. "i can ice skate! well, i was actually gonna try doing ice hockey, but i'm not tough and big enough yet. but i can ice skate.." he trailed off.

sarah considered the boy; brendon was cute and all, definitely, and his lips looked soft. she smiled and began to slide her ice skates back on. "do you have a pair of skates? i wanna test you. i mean, you did manage to lift me up pretty easily while you were helping me." she said. brendon shook his head with a sad smile, but sarah had her skates on in no time, and pulled brendon up by the hands, already guiding him towards the frozen-over lake. "that's okay, just do what i do, okay? i'm sure you'll catch onto the dance pretty soon. a routine i've made up myself. i wanna test you." brendon was already hooked onto this girl. she was like some secret snow princess, and he dug it. 

once out on the ice, brendon caught on quickly on how to avoid falling. after all, he could ice skate, but it was easier with skates, and not just with your shoes. sarah took his hands and pulled him closer, but only to push him further away. "take my hand, here, and spin me, okay?" she insisted. brendon dipped his head and reached out to take her dainty hand, spinning her. not once, but she did a 360 twice, before clutching onto the front of brendon's shirt to stop herself. she was now skating backwards, where brendon was skating forwards towards her. sarah quickly slipped past him, spinning a few times on her own, before returning to brendon.

"what do i do now?" he asked. sarah gave him and affectionate smile. "here," she said, "this'll be tricky, but if you can manage this, then you've seriously got to do this with me. have you ever considered ice skating?" she prodded, approaching brendon. brendon shook his head, awkwardly managing to keep himself in place. "i think you'll like it. okay, so i'm gonna come at you at a steady pace, all you have to do is grab my waist, and lift me over your shoulders, and bend down a bit. i'll take control from there. remember, don't let me go, okay? i'm trusting you." she insisted. 

brendon agreed, though, and in no time she was coming at him. his hands found her waist rather quickly, and he lifted her up onto his shoulder, but she rolled off his shoulder, and over his back, leaving brendon to desperately reach for anything. he ended up catching her by the stomach, his arms around her waist, in which he set her down with ease. she wore a big smile. "that's it! brendon, please. i know we don't know each other but you have to do this. will you help me? be my counterpart for the berkton ice team?" she asked, her face was basically glowing with excitement; brendon just couldn't say no. 

plus, he was curious to try out this ice skating thing. it was much safer than hockey, after all, so his mother was bound to approve. he stood there for a moment, before nodding quite affectionately. "of course, i just..yes!" he insisted, and sarah was suddenly on top of him, squealing in excitement. okay, whether brendon was gay or not, this girl was a total cutie. he felt blessed to get the chance to see her more often. as he laughed at her affection, (she was now smothering the top of his head in playful kisses) his phone went off. he dug it out, setting sarah back down on the ice as he checked his messages. ross.

ross: heyyyy

brendon glanced up at sarah and exited out of the message, smiling. "can i get your number? so we can hang out some more, of course." sarah obliged, and the two exchanged numbers before brendon told her goodbye, and went on his own way, already heading home. as he did so, he pulled his phone out again. he didn't want to leave ross hanging.

urie: yo

ross: whatcha doing?

urie: walking home

ross: oh really? 

urie: yea, i just met a cute girl ;) 

ross: ..oh

urie: why

ross: idk, i'm bored

urie: ok

ross: what happened with the girl

urie: well, the girl has a name. her name's sarah, and she's got pretty blue eyes. she's an ice skater

ross: really?

urie: yea. she asked me to be her counterpart for the couples ice team

ross: did you accept?

urie: duh. if i can't do hockey, why not do ice skating? right?

ross: i guess

urie: how's things going there

ross: not the best, honestly

urie: why not?

ross: ugh my dad

urie: what happened

ross: he hit me

urie: what do you mean..hit you

ross: i mouthed him for getting drunk so he slapped me

urie: jesus christ, you okay?

ross: yeah, i'll be fine

ross: it isn't the first time, he's always like this when he's drunk. he's drunk a lot

urie: shit man. that's rough

ross: yeah

urie: where's your mom?

ross: heaven

urie: oh jesus, i'm sorry

ross: it's no problem. hey, don't worry about me, okay. wanna play some minecraft when you get home?

urie: why not. of course. i'll text you when i get home

ross: ok

so that's exactly what brendon did. when he got home, he snuck down to his lounge room, pulled his laptop on his lap, and texted ross yet again. in no time ross and him were playing minecraft, and brendon found himself smiling more than he had in a while. 


	7. Chapter 7

_**man in the mirror (#7)** _

—

from then on, everything was great. brendon was allowed to openly approve of ryan gosling, sarah and him met up for more practices, and brendon became closer with ross. christmas was okay, too. his mother ended up buying him more lilac deodorant, which was fine with him, and scott ended up going all out, purchasing brendon a full outfit. a black vest with another dressier white shirt to go under it, jeans, and even some new socks. brendon was grateful, of course, but he felt like scott was trying to dress him up like a cowboy; and brendon wasn't a cowboy. he was anything but.

so on the last day before they returned to school, brendon decided to throw a sleep over; again. of course the only person he invited was his best friend dallon. but when dallon arrived, something seemed off about him. most of the night was okay, despite what dallon was wearing. dallon usually wore things like colorful shirts, jeans, and converses, with messy hair. but he'd arrived at dallon's house instead dressed in a black shirt with white stars across the front, a leather jacket over that, and black jeans. there were chains dangling against his leg, like key chains minus the keys, tied to his belt loops.

"what happened to you?" brendon finally asked, later on through the night. dallon refused to play mortal combat with him, like they usually did. instead, he insisted on sitting on the recliner and playing on his phone, leaving brendon sitting on the floor of the lounge, forced to play mortal combat against the computers. it was boring, really, they had no skill and were way to easy to defeat. dallon looked up at brendon's words, though.

"what do you mean?"

"you look all...dark. and you refuse to play mortal combat with me.." brendon trailed off, raising an eyebrow with a frown. dallon was quick to turn on him, poison in his eyes as he looked upon brendon. "that shit's gay, brendon. nobody plays mortal combat anymore." he shot back. brendon stared at dallon with a monotonous expression, in pure shock. now that he was out about being gay, mortal combat was suddenly gay? he was flabbergasted; not to mention he felt violated.

"it's not gay." he returned, shrugging as he turned back to his game. before he could finish his match, though, dallon interfered. dallon raised to his feet with a groan and walked over to shut the ps2 down, turning on brendon yet again. he didn't wait for the boy's reply, but plucked him from the ground by the upper arm, and began to drag him up the stairs. brendon went quiet, simply letting dallon drag him from the house. they snuck out the backdoor, into the cold. 

the moon lit the snow up, and to brendon, it looked like it was glowing. thought he wasn't allowed to enjoy it for very long. dallon still had ahold of his upper arm, and he was still dragging brendon after him. they walked that way for a while. brendon wouldn't speak up against dallon's wishes, dallon was his best friend. but dallon wouldn't loosen his grip on brendon's arm. he finally released brendon when they reached the edge of town. brendon was freezing. he hadn't managed to grab a jacket; unlike dallon in his leather jacket.

dallon didn't say anything, though, but instead released a heavy sigh. his breath came out in fog, distracting brendon. they were approaching the old baseball field. more specifically, the building where the baseball players would sit and wait for their turn to play with the team. once he reached it, he began scaling the closest fence, then heaving himself on top of the building. brendon watched up uncertainly, frowning. one dallon was up, he peered down at brendon, smirking. "well, get up here, bren." 

brendon obliged reluctantly- everything ebout this felt wrong. he had school tomorrow, he should've been asleep. but no, here he was with the best friend he thought he knew, breaking curfew. still, brendon followed in dallon's footsteps, until he was sitting on the roof beside him, his legs dangling off the roof as he sat near the edge, where dallon insisted he sit. the stars above him where beautiful, though, the sight was similar to the picture printed on dallon's shirt.

brendon turned to glance at dallon as he abruptly stuck his hand into his pocket, retrieving what appeared to be a pack of cigarettes. the church boy's eyes grew wide as he watched his best friend pull one out of the box, light it with the lighter he pulled out next, and stuck it in his mouth, inhaling a puff of it. when he noticed brendon's eyes on him, dallon raised an eyebrow at brendon. "hm?" 

"dallon, put that down! you shouldn't- you shouldn't be smoking, you're only 17! that's nasty!" he whisper yelled, looking around, as if to make sure nobody else was watching. suddenly, brendon felt very paranoid, like he _was_ being watched. dallon chuckled to himself, shaking his head. in fact, he pulled the cigarette from his mouth, and offered it to brendon. "go on, try it. just put it in your mouth and suck on it." he insisted.

brendon frowned, his nose scrunching up at the smell. "why in the hell would i suck on something so nasty?" he snapped back, anger rising in his chest. so this is what had happened to dallon. he'd began smoking, what else had changed with him? brendon was afraid to find out. but dallon was insistent, and looked just as angry. "well, you're gay, aren't you? you suck dick, so go on." he offered it to him again, but brendon whined softly.

like before, he felt like dallon might be homophobic. was he friends with the right crowd? softly, brendon pulled away, staring at the cigarette in dallon's hand as if it were the most toxic thing he'd seen in his life. it was close to being true. "i'm a virgin, dallon. i've never.." he trailed off, glancing up at dallon. dallon only rolled his eyes, shoving the cigarette towards him again, once again. "just do it, you pussy."

like before, brendon reluctantly obliged, frowning as he took the cigarette from dallon's hand, and put it to his lips, sucking a puff out of it. automatically, he felt a burning sensation in the back of his throat, and began hacking. in his wild fit of coughs, he dropped the cigarette off the roof. he gripped to the roof of the building, wiping his lips with distaste. "what the fuck, dallon? that shit is nasty!" 

dallon was glaring hard at him now, shaking his head slowly. "those cost money, you prat." he snapped. brendon glared right back. he was already fed up with dallon's attitude. "i'm leaving. i'm not letting you drag me down." he decided, growling as he heaved himself from the roof, right into the sand below. after all, the building wasn't that tall. dallon's eyes bore into brendon's back as he made the correct decision. 

"fine, go then. don't expect me to stand up for you when the dicks find out your gay." brendon turned sharply, glaring even harder at dallon. "you wouldn't," he shot back, his gaze hardening. was dallon threatening to out him at school? dallon only let a smirk find his lips. "i would. don't push me, brendon. i know you better than you know the back of your hand." 

with that, brendon looked down at his hand, then back up at dallon. he debated just turning the other cheek and walking off, but he turned to dallon again. "dallon, please. you can't do this to me. i'm sorry i threw your smoke stick on the ground, i didn't mean for that to happen, but just because i don't want to be like you gives you know right to threaten my safety." he spoke, loud and clear. 

dallon faltered, sighing as he gave in. "sorry." 

brendon decided that was good enough for the night. he'd need some rest for school tomorrow; and for trying to talk dallon out of smoking before he started smoking something bad. like drugs. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M GOING TO MY PANIC! AT THE DISCO CONCERT WITH MY MOM TOMORROW ND I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE EXCITED HOLY FUCK GUYS I'M PROBS GONNA CRY ? LOL ? HELP ME ?


	8. Chapter 8

_**ya got trouble (#8)** _

_**—** _

brendon was afraid to go to school after christmas break. after dallon threatened to out him the night before, the last thing he wanted was to arrive only to have some kid grab him, and push him up against something. despite his worries, his mother insisted he go to school. being the mama's boy he was, he obliged, reluctantly. when he hit the bus stop though, he was surprised to discover he wasn't the only one there. 

dallon was there too, wearing yet another dark outfit, with a cigarette hanging from his lips. once he noticed brendon, he sighed, and beckoned the boy over. brendon loathed having to approach his best friend, which was the first time he'd ever thought he would, but once again obliged to somebody's orders. once close enough, dallon snatched brendon's upper arm, and tugged him closer. 

"listen, i'm sorry about what i said last night. it was uncalled for." he whispered. brendon felt a wave of relief flood through him, like the gates to a dam being washed out. "so you...won't...out me to anybody?" he whispered back, and in return, dallon shook his head, smiling affectionately at him. 

"not at all. you're my best friend, brendon, i can't imagine putting you in harms way." he admitted. before brendon could reply, he was knocked aside by somebody else; a ginger haired boy, with thick, black framed glasses. it was patrick, the kid who always stood up in class to present his poetry. an easy target for bullying. he latched onto brendon at the last second, before he fell, and tugged brendon out in front of him.

pete, a tougher student with body ink and pretty eyes, was probably the biggest bully in the school. though he usually only picked on patrick, this time he swung a punch in patrick's direction, and managed t nail brendon in the gut. the brown haired boy grunted, doubling over in surprise, clutching at his stomach. patrick released his shoulders, a whine finding his throat. "i'm so sorry, brendon, i just-"

"no, don't worry about it. you didn't mean for that to happen.." brendon groaned, straightening up. pete was angry. very angry. and he was glaring at brendon now, but brendon met his glare with just as much hostility. "hey, fuck off of him, will you?" he snapped at the bully, who only rolled his eyes with a smirk. "i'll do whatever i want to that loser. it'd be in your best interest to step aside, before you get hurt, kid." he insisted.

dallon, however, had something to say about that.

"i think not." dallon growled, easily stepping in front of both brendon and pete, his taller form was a shield to the younger ones. pete gave him a wary look, huffed, and threw another punch. but dallon was ready. dallon grabbed his wrist before his fist collided with his face, and twisted his arm until he had the kid whining and whimpering. once he released him, he grabbed the front of pete's shirt.

"i'll expect you'll piss off now, right?" he snapped, dallon's voice dangerously low. pete gave the taller kid an alarmed expression, nodded vigorously, and wriggled free of his grip, taking off down the side walk. brendon was watching his best friend in awe, disbelief in his eyes. "dallon! you just faced pete- pete _wentz!_ " he exclaimed. patrick grabbed brendon, sweeping him into a big hug against dallon. the three of them stood there, awkwardly hugging, until the bus arrived, and they were forced apart by other kids swarming over them to get good seats.

...

brendon's first class was english, with mr. sanger. scott, of course, who might as well be his stepdad by now. as he approached the classroom, he shared a joke with dallon, who was obviously right beside him. dallon slipped ahead of brendon once at the door, easily finding his seat in the front row. brendon, however, was knocked aside for the second time this morning, this time by some clumsy kid.

"hey!" he gasped, grabbing onto mr. sanger's desk to steady himself. it was a mousey-haired kid, with brown eyes and a thin frame. he adjusted his shirt and pulled away from brendon, without saying anything, though his eyes lingered on brendon for a few moments, before he took off to his seat in the back of the room. 

_he was cute._

brendon had seen cute before, after all, he had a huge homo crush on ryan goseling. however, he'd never come across a guy he found remotely as cute as the one who'd bumped into him. he blinked a few times, trying to process what'd happened. his skin looked soft; fuck, in fact, brendon found that his hair looked just as soft. he wanted to touch it.

"urie, take a seat." mr. sanger, or scott, announced as he entered the classroom. brendon snapped his attention over to his stepdad, gave a soft nod, and swiftly took his seat. he made sure he was in the back, close enough to ryan, so he could 'read', but pull off sneaking glances at the cute boy. he wanted to know his name, for sure. 

as mr. sanger went on with the lesson, brendon's attention quickly diverted from his words, as usual, as he instead went to town on a piece of paper he ripped off his english assignment. with his terrible handwriting, he scribbled down _'do you know that mouse-boy's name?'_

then, he crumpled it into a little ball, and leaned into the aisle of his row, so the back of dallon's head was in sight. as 'graceful' as he could, he chucked the ball at him, managing to smack him in the neck. dallon jumped softly, turning around in his seat to frown at brendon. brendon simply smirked, motioning to the paper ball now laying on the ground near his seat.

in a few moments time, dallon had read the note, and begun on his own in reply to brendon. then he turned around in his seat; quit obviously; and tossed it back at brendon. the church boy had been expecting it, so brendon easily grabbed it out of the air as if a basketball, and un-crumpled it. _'maybe. why? think he's cute or something? don't deny it, i saw you mooning over him just before class began ;)'_

brendon went red in the cheeks, raising his head to glare at dallon, who was just turned fully around in his seat now, smirking right back at dallon. brendon rolled his eyes at his best friend, and began to write out another note. this last one, got more to the point. _'just tell me the kid's name, will ya? yes, i think he's cute. do you know if he's gay or anything?'_

although, before brendon could throw it back, he was got red handed. he'd been in the middle of chucking it, leaned forward in his seat passed the kid in front of him, tyler, but didn't get very far. "urie! sit back in your seat. i would expect more from you. in fact, since your guys' conversation seems so important, why don't you read out those notes to us?" mr. sanger insisted, leaning back on his desk.

brendon yelped in surprise, falling back in his seat. everybody's eyes were on him; there was a heat burning in his cheeks again. he bit down on his bottom lip, and shook his head vigorously. there was no way in hell he was reading out the notes. especially since they outed him. he wasn't ready for teasing, especially not on the first day back from christmas break. "no! no thanks, sir. they're not that important." he insisted.

mr. sanger raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly. "no, seriously, brendon urie, go on. since you happen to think just because you're gay, you get your way, then go right ahead." as soon as the words fell from his mouth, the class went silent. brendon squirmed in his seat as anger built inside of him; and as he felt every kid's gaze bare into him. he got to his feet, defiantly glaring at his stepdad.

"how dare you?! you have no right to go around outing me!" brendon growled, pointing a finger accusingly at the teacher. mr. sanger simply rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "you aren't going to get any special treatment for liking it up the butt, kid, not sit back down and pay attention, will ya?" by now, brendon felt tears prickling his eyes. he looked around the class, realizing some kids had smirks on their faces, menacing smirks.

including pete, who held a nefarious expression. he glanced at dallon, who had just gotten to his feet, and shrunk back in his seat, shaking his head in disapproval. the tears were heavy in his eyes, as brendon's eyes reached the mouse-haired kid's eyes. he had an expression of pure shock on his face. just that was enough to haunt brendon. brendon blinked back a few tears, wiping at his eyes with the palms of his hands, trying to force the tears away. however, they only spilled over his cheeks. 

automatically, brendon took off, squirming past dallon, and taking off out of the classroom, as a whimper echoed from his mouth. the students who'd been watching him all looked around at each other in shock, as whispers began to form. mr. sanger was eyeing dallon now, too, with a look of disinterest. dallon was still standing, though now, his fists were curled in fury. "what? are you gay, too?" mr. sanger snapped. dallon had had enough from that last response. 

"fuck off! you have no right to treat brendon like that, you-.. you.. i hope you burn in hell!" dallon raised his voice, and the few kids nearest to him winced away. he glanced around the room one more time, taking notice of how pete had raised to his feet. hurriedly, dallon approached pete's desk, grabbed the kid's shoulder, and shoved him back down into his seat.

"i swear to all the gods above, wentz, if you lay a hand on brendon, you won't have the tongue to taste your next meal." dallon threatened, in a low voice, his eyes dropping to take in the boy's appearance. like everyone else would, the bully whined softly, squirming uncomfortably under dallon's prolonged gaze. after dallon's dramatic change from mr. good boy to mr. bad boy, nobody was willing to question him.

little did dallon know, however, that pete wasn't the only one who was on their way to find brendon. the mouse haired boy brendon had been eyeing early had raised to his feet, and slipped from the room, while everybody's eyes were strained on the scene pete and dallon caused. mr. sanger didn't do anything about the situation until the mouse haired kid had left the room, sprinting down the hallway. 

__


End file.
